Here are some definitions of words we use on this site.

• affidavit – a document that gives detailed information that is sworn to be true under oath
• administration with will annexed – the Probate Court appoints someone called a personal representative who is required to administer the deceased estate following the directions and gifts that are listed in the deceased person’s will. This happens when the person who is named as executor in the will cannot or will not agree to act as executor
• age of majority – legally this is the age that a person is considered to be an adult. In Nova Scotia, the age of majority is 19
• beneficiary – someone who is named in a will to receive something from an estate
• deceased estate – the estate of someone who has died, including financial and property
• decision maker of last resort – if there is no one named in a Personal Directive, or there are no clear instructions in a Personal Directive, there is a list of people who can be asked to make a decision for a person who is not capable of making a decision, and the Public Trustee is the last person on the list
• delegate – a person who is named as someone who can make decisions for another person, in a directive under the Personal Directives Act
• executor – a person who has been named in a will to carry out the wishes of the person who made the will
• guardian of the estate – a person who is approved by the court to take legal responsibility for the financial affairs and property of another person
• guardian of the person – a person who is approved by the court to take legal responsibility for the personal affairs of another person. A parent is automatically guardian of the person for their child unless something happens to change that
• has an interest – the Province of Nova Scotia may have the right to any property that is in the hands of the Public Trustee for one of these reasons:
  • no person is entitled to the property
  • the property belongs to a missing person and the missing person does not claim the property within seven years (Section 33 of the Public Trustee Act)
• home care services – “includes health-care services and support services provided to a person in the person’s own home or while resident in a continuing-care home where the need for services is assessed by a person licensed or registered under provincial legislation to provide health care or a person authorized by the Minister of Health or the Minister of Community Services to perform need assessments”
• intestate – a person has died without leaving a will
• medical care proxy – properly called medical care authorization – a proxy is a person or a written document that authorizes a person to give consent for medical treatment and make decisions on behalf of a person who is no longer able to do so
• personal representative – a term used in the Probate Act to describe an executor named in a will and, if there is no will, the person appointed by the Probate Court to administer the deceased person’s estate (formerly called an “administrator”)
• probate – a process of proving the genuineness and validity of a will in the Probate Court. It includes validating the will: collecting the assets, administering it by paying taxes and debts, and distributing the gifts to those who are named as beneficiaries. Note: The word “probate” has many meanings. This is the one that applies to this document.
• registered domestic partner – a relationship between two people who have filed a domestic-partner declaration, following the process in Part II of the Vital Statistics Act
• residuary beneficiaries – people named in a will to get what is left after all the bills and other gifts have been paid
• testator – a person who has made a will
• without court order – in Nova Scotia, the Public Trustee is, by law, the guardian of the estate of every child unless someone else has been appointed. This position is always in place and so no court order is needed for the Public Trustee to become guardian of the estate for a child.